VIRUS!

A First Aid Primer

By:  M.A. Kowalski

 

            Viruses are like demented short stories. They may scare or irritate us, but there's no reason to panic. There's much less to fear from these small pests than from the biological sort. By and large, with a little preventive care, you can almost completely avoid the nastiness of  infections from viruses and malware programs.

            Basically, the internet wouldn't work if small programs couldn't be downloaded into our computers. So we're only dealing with programs which don't work or work badly.

 

Virus Symptoms:

            1.   Loss of speed. Your computer slows to a crawl.

            2.   Inability to open files.

            3.   Your Web Browser seems to have been “Hijacked”.

            4.   Windows open when you have done nothing to open them.

 

            Since the primary damage from viruses is data loss, downloading them can be prevented or mostly minimized with just small changes to your daily computer practices. Be proactive. As there are things you can do to minimize the risk of infection by colds and the flu, there are things you can do to prevent or minimize your chances of picking up viruses. Also, when you've picked up a virus, try to determine where it came from. Then report it to your ISP.(Internet Service Provider)

 

            Prevention:

                        Backing up your system:

 

i.    Create an inventory of the files you would hate to lose. These will include your “Favorites” folder contents, all of your Text Documents, all of your image files, your Financial Management Programs' Data file and so on.  Back these files up regularly – like once a week.

 

ii.   Save your work often. Print out this article. Keep it taped to your monitor in case you need it.

 

iii.  Build a computer file folder system in order to easily access frequently saved folders. Save these folders to backup CD's or other removable media at the end of each day's work, as often as possible. Writing professionally, we need to demand of ourselves the same professionalism we demand from the bank that we keep our money in. What if they lost our file one day and our money went with it?

            [Editor’s note:  See ‘Backup Solutions for Writers’ by Gary Kearney for a ‘backup’ how-to complete with screen shots. ]

                       

   Maintenance of your System:

 

i.    Use Windows Update regularly.

ii.   Update your Virus Definitions 3 times per week.

iii.  Keep the Virus program box (Symantec or McAfee are the most widely used) on your shelf for easy access to the Technical Support Helpline Telephone number.

 

 

            First Aid:

 

   Minimizing the spread of and damage caused by a virus:

i.    When your computer suddenly slows way down, stop. Don't try to find the problem.

ii.   Immediately run your virus program. If it doesn't find the virus, you can go online and try to update your virus definitions.

iii.  If that fails, call your virus protection Technical Support helpdesk and ask for help. Be prepared to spend an hour on the phone.

iv.  MINIMIZE your online time. The virus may be downloading dialers, Adware, Spyware or other Malware and broadcasting Personal Identification information. A computer is complicated like the human body. Usually, we don't try fifty different pills to fix a problem. We'll do what we know works, then we'll call the doctor.

 

Spyware, Adware and Other Malware Programs:

i.    We download programs that collect data from our computers all the time. But there are types of these programs which are troublesome. Most virus checker programs will take care of them. If you download a Spyware, Adware or Malware scanner/remover package, chances are, it will install it's own Spyware. But if you use a trusted name like Norton or McAfee, you can avoid a lot of the other problem software out there. Run the program once a week as needed.

 

 

 

            By the way, we paid for a nationwide high speed, fiber optic data transmission network over the last ten years. We gave the telephone and cable companies tax breaks to fund it but instead, they kept the money. Write to your Congressman and Senator and tell them to make these companies either give the Twenty-Five Billion dollars back or build the network.

 

SAVE YOUR WORK